I am very excited that a new music venue, Spring Street Music Hall, just opened a few minutes from where I live. In the first month of operation they have scheduled gigs by Michael Burks, The Nighthawks, and Devon Allman's Honeytribe. I saw my first show this past weekend...Tinsley Ellis amd The Delta Playboys.
Everything was going great until Tinsley's last set when he started hearing sounds other than him and his bandmates. The audience started hearing them too.
To my total shock, embarassment, and disbelief....some guy was standing beside the stage, facing the band, and honking away on his harmonica.
Now I have seen a few assholes (yes, if you show musicians this type of disrespect you ARE an asshole) pull there harps out while in the crowd and play along, but this guy was sure the band and the crowd wanted what he had to add.
He was using the correct harp for 2nd position. His dominant lick was holding the 4 draw while adding wah effects with his hands.
When the song ended Tinsley looked right at him and said "Now thats real classy". The guy slid out the side door. Maybe a small fraction of his stupidity was realized by him.
My wife told me if I EVER pulled my harps out and jammed along with a band that it would be the last time for her to go to a blues show. No worries Honey!
Why was I embarassed? I'm trying to promote blues and harmonica around here and what this guy did was not a help.
No way would I jam along in this manner. I won't even ask a band to sit in because I feel like you are putting them on the spot. I don't like it when my friends start hounding a band to let me sit in. If someone in the band knows me and sees me in the audience, then I might accept an invitation if I feel the band is sincere.
If you are an uninvited jam along with the band harp player....then I hope you get put in your place or find some help soon.
Last Edited by on Feb 23, 2011 6:55 AM
I have seen that more than once. I was playing a gig with my first band and some guy was being a pain in the ass. Then asked us if he play a couple songs. This is the type of stuff that makes someone like Rusty Zinn say, "Don't be an ASSHOLE"! I have seen it a number of times. I have seen harmonaholes at open mics and blues jams to. There everywhere! The problem is harps are consealable. What other istrument can you bring to a club without the people at the door seeing? If all harps were two feet long that wouldn't happen. I just remembered I saw the same thing at a James Cotton show in Vermont about 20 years ago. He stopped playing and asked the guy if he thought he was better than him? In front of about 400 people! The guy said NO. I don't remember his reply, but I know he was swearing!
The james cotton response is a classic. What I have come to doing via the learning curve of acting in anger and haste is to just stop playing. This usually resolves the issue. Even if he keeps playing usually a club employee will come up to the stage and ask what is wrong. I say I can't play until he stops. That way I don't have to get into an argument or fight. Life is too short to fight such battles. Walter
PS: I learned this the hard way. One quick example- we were playing a big festival in belguim and a drunk came up onstage with his chromatic and started playing noise. My wife came out and took the harp away and said he could have it when we were done. He left and the next think I hear is my wife screaming. His girl friend jumped Judy and was beating her up. I ran off the stage and tried to break it up. Fistfulls of her hair in my hand and still she wouldn't stop. So I bounced her head off the cobblestone road a few times. That worked but in the meantime people in the crowd started throwing cobblestones at us like they do during a soccer riot. We ran offstage and the promoter insisted we finish our set. Needless to say we played terribly, got our money and never were asked back.
Another time while backing Sonny Rhodes I was walking the crowd blowing harp and a guy started blowing his. Somebody took his away and the next thing I knew this guy had me in a serious choke hold. I was using one of those SBWII mics like on the king biscuit album cover and gave him a full uppercut with it. He flew back smacked his head with a deadly thud off the dance floor and started convulsing and foaming at the mouth. His buddies dragged him away. I figured I killed someone. Luckily he came up on the break with a cold beer on his head and appologized. Those were some crazy days.... ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
John: They are funny now! If you need some more laughs let me know. I have dozens of these kind of stories like when the 5 California Highway Patrol carspulled us over and ordered us face down at gunpoint...... I have a lot of compassion for young people because I was a mess of inspiration that learned the hard way. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Thats some wild stuff Waltertore! I love hearing stories from the road...for most of us its probably not a lifestyle we will get to experience. I'm sure it has its up and downs. I'm game for reading any of your stories!
I was playing an open mic once and some drunk guy kept begging to play my harp. During the middle of my jam he actually walked up and tried to take the harp from me. I did the right thing and turned it over to management............If I had fought this guy I could have been hurt, him hurt, bystanders hurt, damage to business and equipment, thrown in jail, barred form the place...not to mention possible lawsuits.
Instead, my wife and I got apologies, free meals, and free drinks for the night.
I have never seen the gusser phenomenon in harmonica form, just in vocal form. Here's one such example of Chris Duarte handling a overenthusiatic audience member:
harpdude61: You did the right thing! I wish I had that kind of thinking in my head when I was playing full time. Nigel Price is writing a book on my life and many of these stories will be in it. If we were sitting in the flesh or you want to talk on the phone I would gladly share more but typing them out is too much of a hassle. When I start typing them I go back to that time the same way I do with my songs. My fingers can't keep up and it gets frustrating. A few things that happened onstage were being stones thrown at us/shot at/fought/had bottles thrown at me/thrown amplifiers back at the bottle throwers/and luckily never killed or got killed. Also those old round metal based mic stands made real good baseball bats when having to deal with a group of angry guys. Ask Pat (can't remember his last name at the moment) the harp player up in the North Bay how I fended him and his buddies off one night with one. Being around the old blues guys was very inspiring and they were usually a bit deliquent themselves. Being a young guy I wanted to get their respect so I did some stupid stuff...... I also got real good training in this area growing up in Newark NJ. Wilbert Harrison, one of the best one man bands, picked me up as a teen as walked down south orange ave in Newark blowing my harp. It is on my soundclick page. THe part I left out was I was delivering drugs/collecting money for the mob. I was only about 16. Growing up is a great thing. I am sitting here at Newark High School, typing this on my lunch and still can't believe I made it to being a school teacher. I have overdosed 2 times, been shot at, stabbed, and am lucky not only to be alive but to not be in long term lock up myself. Walter
Todd: I am at work on lunch and can't see that Chris Duarte picture(the school system blocks most everything). Chris and I did lots of gigs together in austin. He was without a doubt the loudest guitarist I have heard. A person blowing an unamplified harp in the audience would never be heard. He gets so loud you almost can't hear anything. ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
It's aggravating. A friend of mine was playing a gig. He usually works without a harp player. He doesn't need to hire one as many harp players drop into his gigs and sit in. Sometimes, there are more harp players present than at one of Mark Hummel's Blowouts.
A local harp player was playing in the audience. He politely asked him to stop. The guy continued. An employee of the club asked the guy to leave. The harp player made a big scene. He stuck around until the break to issue a few choice words to the performer.
For the next several months, he endured e-mail death threats from the guy. He had to watch his back at every gig for a while.
Here's the really messed up part. My buddy would have let him sit in on a couple of tunes, if he had been cool about it. Now, he'll never sit in with him and the story has made the rounds on the scene. His name is mud around here.
When I see this behavior, I usually ignore it. If I know the person, I ask them to knock it off. The guys that are worse are the ones that jump on stage, grab a mic and start playing.
not only would I not jump up on stage with harp unannouced I would probably decline an invite unless I was sure I could handle it-it would be better if there was rehearsal and then get up if I and that band both thought it would fit-I will not be disrespectful to live performers
Only had one gusser in my life. We were practicing (rock/blues band)in the back of a small pub. The owner was our front man, he'd allow bands to rehearse/practice on weeknights and the patrons dug it because our practice routine was basically playing through the set list once or twice.
The guy comes in and sits right in front of us and says hello/chats up our front man. In between takes I keep hearing harmonica, finally i realize it's the gusser. I look over at our front man and he just shrugs. Finally after about the fifth time I put my harp down...walk over and say to him "You got a fuckin problem?".
No more gussing after that and he aplogized about twenty times to me through the rest of the night.
hmmmmmmmmmmm I'm afraid I have a slightly different view, but then, maybe that's because I have not had the exact same thing happen to me.
What are acceptable audiance reactions?
If somebody dances in front of the band and blocks the view of the band, that's OK with me.
If people in the audiance want to sing along, that's OK with me.
If someone in the audiance is making a racket while playing the spoons, blowing on a beer bottle, or playing a harmonica, It's OK with me.
Let the crowd take care of them. If they are annoying, somebody will get them to stop.
On the stage is another matter. The band leader controls the stage. If the band has control of the audiance, what I said above does not apply. The stage is what we are "paid" to control.
Maybe I'm more tolerant of assholes. ---------- intermediate level (+) player per the Adam Gussow Scale, Started playing 2001
Jim...if you were in the band and could hear the harmonica it wouldn't bother you? I know it is not the end of the world and worse things can happen, but I would at least make sure the audience knew who and where they were.
To be honest, it baffles the shit out of me that someone can be wired this way. Getting my harp out at a live show is just something that never crossed my mind......I did not know it was called a gusser.
I would much rather play harp in a context that is appreciated.
Seems like I remember a video of Jason saying something to a guy playing harp in the audience? Anyone?
This is a little different and maybe I handled it wrong....
I met a guy at an open mic that was part of a band that had a couple of small gigs around. He invited me to come and play on 3 or 4 blues songs. Sure..why not..this is as good as it gets for me.
So I show up and while waiting to be called I saw another cat walk in with harps. He sees my harps and asks whats up. I tell him the lead singer invited me to sit in a few songs. I could sense this rubbed him wrong when somebody told me he sits in with this band a lot.
I felt funny but I had not done anything wrong. I was asked in a friendly way to jam...so i jammed. It was a small venue and it was obvious the guy was totally ignoring me while up there and being loud and trying to draw attention to himself at the bar.
I used up all my licks in those few songs and the band and audience was very kind to me.
The guy walked over and handed me his "harmonica for hire" business card. Told me if I ever need a harp player let him know.
I smiled and said thanks. He finally got on stage and played on a country type tune. Rather than stoop to his level I watched and listened respectfully.
When they finished the first song he pointed his harp to me in a way that said..."touche! Take that!" I smiled and walked out.
Wonder if the guy has ever learned that you can bend notes on a harmonica?
Last Edited by on Feb 23, 2011 11:41 AM
Unreal! That guy looks young. His friends probably have him pumped up...thinking he is pretty good...which he may be. He must have thought it the right thing to do or why else would he do it?
here's an excerpt from a humourous article I found regarding audience etiquette:
"When requesting a song from the band, just say "play ... my song!" We have chips implanted in our heads with an unlimited database of the favorite tunes of every patron who ever walked into a bar and all songs ever recorded so feel free to be vague, we love the challenge.
If we say we really don't remember that tune you want, we're only kidding. Bands do know every song ever recorded, so keep humming. Hum harder if need be... it helps jog the memory, or just repeat your request over and over again.
If a band tells you they do not know a song you want to hear, they either forgot they know the tune or they are just putting you on. Try singing a few words for the band. Any words will do. It also helps to scream your request from across the room several times per set followed by the phrases, "AW COME ON!" and, "YOU SUCK!"
Exaggerated hand gestures expressing disapproval from the dance floor are a big help as well, such as the thumbs down or your middle finger up put-downs are the best way to jog a band's memory. This instantly promotes you to the status of "Personal Friend Of The Band." You can bet your request will be the next song we play.
Entertainers are notorious fakers and jokesters and never really prepare for their shows. They simply walk on stage with no prior thought to what they will do once they arrive. We don't actually make set lists or rehearse songs. We mostly just wait for you to yell something out, then fake it.
An entertainer's job is so easy, even a monkey could do it, so don't let them off the hook easily. Your request is all that matters. Once you've figured out what genre of music the band plays, please make your requests from a totally different genre. The more exaggerated the better. If it's a blues band playing, yell for some Metallica or Slayer or Pantera. Likewise, if its a death-speed metal band, be sure to request Brown-Eyed Girl or some Grateful Dead. Musicians need to constantly broaden their musical horizons, and it's your job to see that it happens.... immediately.
TALKING WITH THE BAND The best time to discuss anything with the band in any meaningful way is at the middle of a song when all band members are singing at the same time. Our hearing is so advanced that we can pick out your tiny voice from the megawatt wall of sound blasting all around us. And we can converse with you in sign language while singing the song, so don't worry that we're in the middle of the chorus.
Musicians are expert lip readers too. If a musician does not reply to your question or comment during a tune, it's because they didn't get a good look at your mouth in order to read your lips. Simply continue to scream your request and be sure to over emphasize the words with your lips. This helps immensely. Don't be fooled. Singers have the innate ability to answer questions and sing at the same time. If the singer doesn't answer your questions immediately, regardless of how stupid the question may seem, it's because they are purposely ignoring you. If this happens, immediately cop an attitude. We love this.
IMPORTANT When an entertainer leans over to hear you better, grab his or her head in both hands and yell directly into their ear, while holding their head securely so they cannot pull away. This will be taken as an invitation to a friendly and playful game of tug of war between their head and your hands. Don't give up! Hang on until the singer or guitar player submits. Drummers are often safe from this fun game since they usually sit in the back, protected by the guitar players. Keyboard players are protected by their instrument, and only play the game when tricked into coming from behind their keyboards. Though difficult to get them to play, it's not impossible, so keep trying. They're especially vulnerable during the break between songs.
HELPING THE BAND If you inform the band that you are a singer, the band will appreciate your help with the next few tunes, or however long you can remain standing on stage. If you're too drunk to stand unassisted, simply lean on one of the band members or the most expensive piece of equipment you see. Just pretend you're in a Karaoke bar. Simply feel free to walk up on stage and join in.By the way, the drunker you are, the better you sound, and the louder you should sing. If by chance you fall off the stage, be sure to crawl back up and attempt to sing harmony. Keep in mind that nothing assists the band more than outrageous dancing, fifth and sixth part harmonies, or a tambourine played on one and three and out of tempo. Try the cowbell; they love the challenge. The band always needs the help and will take this as a compliment.
Finally, the microphone and PA system are merely props, they don't really amplify your voice, so when you grab the mic out of the singers hand be sure to scream into it at the top of your lungs, otherwise no one will hear what a great singer you are. Hearing is over-rated anyhow. The crowd and the sound guy will love you for it.
BONUS TIP As a last resort, wait until the band takes a break and then get on stage and start playing their instruments. They love this. Even if you are ejected from the club, you can rest assured in the fact you have successfully completed your audition. The band will call you the following day to offer you a position.
ALSO Approach the band while they are setting up their equipment. This is a very boring time for musicians and having you on stage will give them someone to talk to. Ask them if they are "playing tonight? What time do you start? What kind of music do you play? Where else do you play?" Plus, this is the only exercise they ever get and those extra steps it takes them to walk around you will make for a better workout. Go ahead and turn on their amps and play their instruments. It will give them the opportunity to hear what they will sound like. A good sound check is an important part of the gig. And don't forget the microphones! Give a good and loud, "Check, 1, 2," in each mic about 20 times. That'll also give you the chance to give a "shout out" to your buddies at the bar and tell that joke about the Jews.
Be sure to let the guitar player know that you have a guitar "exactly" like his. When he says, "Please, tell me more", you say, "It's brown, just like yours!" And don't forget to tell everyone in the band about your cousin who has a 1955 Martin and a 1959 Gibson guitar. Every band member is fascinated by the fact that there are people in the world who own vintage musical instruments. The fact that you are related to one of those people will absolutely blow them away! You'll be their new favorite fan and will have made life-long friends.
Nothing will boost a band's ego more than having you dance to their music. Wait until the dance floor is empty and hop up there by yourself and start getting down! That'll show the crowd what they're missing. Be sure to position yourself right in front of the singer's microphone stand. Every time your elbow bumps his stand, the mic will hit his teeth and the two of you will be moving in perfect sync. This looks great!
Buy a round of drinks for the band. A nice big shooter will get them rockin'& rollin'! Five shots of Triple Sec won't cost you much.
It's hard for a band to compete with a televised sporting event. They probably want to watch that soccer game as badly as you. Remind them that they can take a break any time so you all can catch up on the latest scores and highlights.
Don't forget to tip! A lot of musicians live on their tip money. Be sure to first wave the money in their face. You have to make sure they see you are tipping. It's a good deal for you both since that dollar you dropped in the tip jar is worth at least 6 or 7 requests.
When you request a song and the band says he does not know the song, don't you believe them. So, when told, "We don't know that song," reply, "Yes, you do!" This exchange will go on for a while:
"We don't know it." Yes, you do!" "No, we don't." "Yes, you do." "No, we don't." "Yes, you do." "No, we don't."
Now, hit them will the clincher: "Yes, you do. I've heard you play it before." "No, you haven't. It wasn't us." "Yes, it was." "No, it wasn't." "Yes, it was." "No, it wasn't."
Don't give up! Keep this up for 10-15 minutes until the band admits the are lying. It's a well known fact that bands spend hours memorizing and rehearsing songs that they never intend to play. Your perseverance will impress them and they will gladly play the song. "
@harpdude "...if you were in the band and could hear the harmonica it wouldn't bother you?"
There's a good chance it might. I can see how it would be easy to be anoying playing the harp in the audiance. To me it's all contex and details.
I am against anything disruptive to everyone having a good time. But if there were 4 people sittin at table in some corner, laughin and having a good time and one them was blowing a harp, I would probably say,"great, everyone's pumped and having fun and wanting to join in."
If someone is trying to be center of attention and disruptive, I'm against it. It could be a harp player, or someone dancing with their shirt off, or shouting the words to the song, etc.
Contrast, when our gang get's together on Tuesday nights, most of the crew is blowing while one guy takes the mic. It's a big practice session and jam. I will agree some don't like all the playing at once, but I do.
---------- intermediate level (+) player per the Adam Gussow Scale, Started playing 2001
Last Edited by on Feb 23, 2011 3:15 PM
The sad part is, I've had several of those take place at shows over the years. The mic into my teeth has happened twice. Never a harp gusser yet, though. Maybe it's a regional thing. I've never seen nor heard of it happening around here. ---------- Todd my moderator username is Admin007
Once, I had a drunk woman speaking loud on the phone, right in front of us playing (acoustically). She even tried to pass the phone to our bass player !
I just stopped playing, and looked at the woman until she noticed there was no more music... then I told her to shut the f.. up.
But for a moment I thought about doing like that guy I saw on Youtube : he's giving a lesson in some university, and one student is on the phone, not paying attention. The prof. goes to the student, ask him very politely and with a big smile to give his phone, then he smashes the phone violently on the floor and continues his lesson as if nothing happened. Too funny !
